The Big Step campaigners
PAUL MERSON’S documentary Football, Gambling and Me, which was broadcast on Monday night, was a powerful insight into the devastating effects of addiction. The main issue with gambling is that it is promoted everywhere, particularly in the sporting industry.
In fact you can’t look at 15 football clubs in England’s top two divisions — 9 out of 20 in the Premier League — on the pitch without seeing a betting company’s logo emblazoned on the front of their shirts.
It is hard to escape it. The ads popping up at half-time about “boosted odds,” and the LED screens wrapped around the pitch to market “free bets” in bright colours. Even the ad breaks on the radio encourage you to “gamble responsibly,” as if it’s a choice for those afflicted.
As football grapples with overloaded calendars and commercial pressure, the Mariners’ triumph reminds us why the game’s soul lives far from the spotlight, writes JAMES NALTON
STEVEN ANDREW welcomes a fine introduction to FC United of Manchester, the team set up in opposition to Manchester United
